Just when you thought you could chitchat with authority about USB standards at your next dinner party, a new one comes along to shake everything up again. The latest USB 3.2 standard is going to be confirmed in September, and here’s what that means for your laptop, your phone, and those new USB-C cables you just went…

Who doesn’t hate carrying around their laptop? Even the lightest ones weigh a couple of pounds and can be a huge burden to lug around the city. That’s where portable apps, ones stored on a USB drive, come in.

The USB Killer is infamous (but ingenious.) Plug it in, and within seconds your computer is dead, motherboard fried thanks to a high voltage dose of electricity, along with any other nearby components. This video shows you how it works, but the takeaway is clear: Never connect random USB devices to your computer.

Ever find yourself with a dead smartphone battery, but around a friend with a full charge? Make Magazine shows you how to make your own USB cable that’ll allow you to recharge your phone from another phone.

We’ve mentioned before that some early USB-C cables aren’t built to specification and could damage your hardware. Turns out, the same may be true of some phones that include a USB-C port and support Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 3.0 technology.

USB Type-C cables are great because they’re reversible and support the latest, fastest USB spec, but some cables are so poorly made they can ruin your expensive hardware. Here are a few tips for buying ones that are safe.

PC gaming gear can be fun, and even help you be more productive, but it’s rare to find ones designed to be customizable and high-performance for gaming but equally useful when it’s time to get things done. Das Keyboard’s new gaming line, Division Zero, manages both, with some caveats.

Custom macro keypads are great for shortcuts in video games, document editing, or anywhere else a good keyboard shortcut comes in handy. The problem is they tend to get expensive, especially when you look at higher-end models. Luckily, it’s easy and cheap to build your own.

The 12V jack in a car (once the cigarette lighter) is a pretty common place for many of us to put a USB charger these days. In a lot of car models, that 12V jack doesn’t stop getting power, which means it’s technically draining your battery even when the car’s off. How much? Big Mess O’ Wire decided to figure that out.